-Familiar
by Leo Septem
Summary: Crossover between Medaka Box and the Familiar of Zero, with Louise summoning Kumagawa, the greatest and the worst Minus.
1. Chapter 1 - -Familiar

_Author's notes:_

_In this fic, Kumagawa is generally going to speak with brackets around what he says. For example, "[Blah, blah, blah.]" _

_The reason why is because in the Medaka Box manga, Kumagawa tends to speak with these weird brackets around what he says as a way of visually showing to the readers his insincerity and detachment whenever he talks. Whenever he stops using brackets, it's an out of character moment for him and it usually means shit just got real. Well, technically, I suppose it's more like him reverting back to his original personality than him going OOC._

_Anyways, in regards to this fic itself, this is more of a rough draft kind of thing I've been writing when I got bored. If I decide to start writing this seriously, I may go back and rewrite the following two chapters. Anyway, enjoy._

**-STORY START-**

"Miss Valliere," Professor Colbert called out. "Please step forward and begin."

Louise gulped and swallowed down her nervousness as she stepped forward from the crowd of her fellow peers. As she walked to the front, she could hear the quiet snickering of the others behind her back as well as more than a few unkind words. Ignoring that, she stopped in front of Professor Colbert and took out her wand.

Today was the day of the Springtime Familiar Summoning, the day when the second year students were allowed to summon their own familiars. Amongst the nobles, this was something of a rite of passage as well as a determinant of the mage's power. It was a known fact that strong mages summoned strong familiars, while weak mages summoned weak ones.

And since she, Louise Valliere, was the third daughter of the Duke of Valliere and the famous Karin the Heavy Wind, she simply _had_ to summon a powerful familiar, even if all her previous performances in magic was lackluster.

She had to.

"My name is Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere," Louise began chanting, reciting the words that would call forth her powerful familiar. "In the name of the Five Pentagonal Powers, I call forth thou who shall follow my fate! I summon a familiar!"

From her wand, a stream of pale emerald light burst forth, coalescing into a large mirror shaped disc a few feet in front of her. Louise allowed herself to let out a small breath of relief. This was the hardest part of the spell; actually casting it. With that successfully done, all she needed to do now was to pray and wait that the familiar the came through the portal was a satisfactory one.

But as the seconds turned to minutes, Louise found herself fidgeting nervously. Though the possibility hadn't occurred to her until just now, but what if no familiar showed up? What if, for the one everyone called "Louise the Zero," no familiar would come forth for her?

No. Louise shook her head. No, she could not think that way. She would _definitely _summon a strong familiar.

Thus, when the portal burst apart in a flash of light, Louise found herself letting out another sigh of relief, which quickly turned into one of complete confusion and consternation as she felt something sink in her guts.

Where there should have been her familiar, there was instead a smiling human boy, perhaps a year or two older than herself. He wore a black jacket with a white collar and five yellow buttons down the center and a matching pair of black pants and shoes. He also had black hair and very average features, and his thin body looked to be on the lean side. In other words, he appeared to be very much a commoner.

But if that was all he was, then why did she feel such an uneasy, sickening feeling emanating from this commoner?

"[Eh? What's this?]" the boy in black said as he looked around with a smile on his face. "[Where am I? Wasn't I just about to buy my weekly Shounen Jump at the corner market?]"

"Who are you?" Louise said, not so much asking, as she was demanding an answer from the stranger.

"[Me? I'm Kumagawa Misogi,]" the boy said. "[Who are you?]"

Louise, however, ignored the boy and turned to Colbert, even as the rest of the class began roaring with derisive laughter. "Professor Colbert! Please let me try this again!" Louise pleaded.

Colbert, however, shook his head in negative. "I'm afraid I can't allow that, Miss Valliere," Colbert said with commiseration. "The summoning ritual is a sacred rite. One does not simply redo the summoning ritual because they did not like the familiar they summoned." The balding, middle-aged teacher glanced at Kumagawa briefly. "Even if the familiar in question is rather unusual. Now please finish the contract."

Louise growled with frustration and turned back to Kumagawa. "Hey, commoner. Be thankful that I'm doing this."

"[What? What are you going to do? Are you going to show me your panties?]" Kumagawa cocked his head quizzically even while he continued to smile. "[If you do, I'll definitely be thankful!]"

Louise paused briefly.

_Founder Brimir... _This_is my familiar?_ Louise thought with disgust as she raised her wand. _I'll have to make sure to properly discipline him after this._

"My name is Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere," Louise said as she put the tip of her wand on Kumagawa's forehead, having to stretch her arm out to do so due to the height difference. Even though Kumagawa was not exceptionally tall by any means, Louise was exceptionally short.

"[Gee, don't you think your name is a little too long?]"

Louise ignored Kumagawa as she continued to chant. "Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers, bless this humble being and make him my familiar."

With the prerequisite words for the contract said, Louise reached up and grabbed Kumagawa by his collar, forcibly dragging his face down to her level, whereupon she brusquely placed her lips on his.

"[Hey, hey, what are you doing?]" Kumagawa said as the two parted lips from each other. "[Ow! What's this?]" Kumagawa pointed at the runes being formed on the back of his left hand.

"Those are just the familiar's runes being marked," Louise said dismissively.

"[Oooh, is this magic?]" Kumagawa said excitedly. "[This is just like a manga!]"

"Of course it's magic," Louise said tersely, secretly wondering what in the world this boy was talking about. Manga? What was that? Some kind of strange commoner term?

As the runes finished marking themselves into Kumagawa's hand, Louise's attention naturally drifted to the other nobles roaring with laughter several meters behind her.

"Ha! The Zero summoned a commoner!"

"Louise the Zero does it again! At least this time she didn't make things blow up!"

Louise clenched her jaws and fists tightly in frustration and growled in silent anger as she attempted to stoically bear the merciless teasing of her classmates. Even so, their words stung. This had been her last chance to prove that she wasn't a failure, that she wasn't a Zero.

And she had failed it.

"My, what interesting runes," Colbert said as he studied Kumagawa's new runes. "I can't help but feel that I've seen them before somewhere... Hm... Well, in any case, well done on summoning your familiar, Miss Valliere."

Though she knew that the professor meant no harm or insult when he congratulated her, and that it had truly been a genuine compliment, it still felt as if a piece of her broke inside. She just wanted to go back to her room and cry right now.

"Thank you, Professor Colbert," Louise said stiffly.

"In any case, now that you're done, class is over," Colbert said as he turned around to the rest of the class. "Everyone! Class is dismissed!"

As everyone in the class began flying away, many of the students deliberately passed by – or rather, above – her in order to shout out more insults.

"Have fun walking back, Louise the Zero!"

"Yeah! A commoner is _such_ a good familiar for you!"

Louise found herself grinding her teeth together, remaining rooted to the spot and enduring the insults. Even after the entire class disappeared back into the Academy, Louise stood there as still as a stone.

"[Hello? Anybody home?]" Kumagawa said as he lightly poked Louise's head.

And that was the trigger to break Louise's self-imposed petrification.

"Who are you!?" Louise whirled around suddenly and shouted in anger.

"[I'm Kumagawa Misogi,]" Kumagawa smiled. "[Please to meet you Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere. Can I just call you Louise? Your name is way too long.]"

"Are you insulting my name?" Louise demanded incredulously. Who did this commoner think he was to insult the name of a daughter of the Valliere family?

"[No, no,]" Kumagawa waggled his index finger in a negative gesture. "[I would never go so low as to insult the name a person received from her father and mother. But it does get tiring to say the whole thing every time I want to talk to you. It's like when you read a manga chapter that just goes too long, so then it just gets tiresome to keep reading. Hm... Wait. That's not actually a very good analogy. I like it when chapters are really long. There's more to read that way.]"

"What are you even talking about, commoner?" Louise said, completely bewildered by her familiar's words. Summoning a commoner was bad enough. If she had summoned a _crazy_ familiar, that would be even worse. "You know what? Nevermind. No, you may not call me Louise. From now on you are to call me 'Master.'"

Kumagawa cocked his head. "[Why?]"

"Because I summoned you as my familiar," Louise said. "Those runes on your left hand is proof of that. And that means that you have to obey me."

"[Ooh,]" Kumagawa looked at the runes with newfound interest. "[This really is like something straight out of Weekly Shounen Jump. So? What's a familiar?]"

"Simply put, a familiar is an eternally loyal servant and guardian," Louise said, resigned to having to explain the duties of a familiar to her familiar. What other mage had to do this, she wondered sorrowfully. "They do whatever their master orders them to do, such as gathering reagents. They are also connected in such a way that whatever the familiar sees and hears, the master can see and hear as well. Seeing as how I can't do that with you, though, it's safe to say you don't have that ability. But most importantly, a familiar's top priority is to protect their master from any and all threats. Though that might be a problem for you."

"[Why's that?]"

"A really powerful magical beast can almost any enemy," Louise said. "But you're just a commoner. I bet you couldn't even beat a simple raven."

"[Probably not. I'm the weakest person in the world after all,]" Kumagawa agreed with an unusual note of pride in his voice.

"You're right in that at least," Louise snorted. She then sighed regretfully. "I wanted a cool and strong familiar like a dragon or a griffin. An owl or an eagle at the very least. But now I'm stuck with a stupid, lame commoner. That's not even supposed to be possible!"

"[It sure sucks for you,]" Kumagawa nodded sagely.

"Shut up, familiar," Louise said. "Come. We're going back to my room."

**-SCENE BREAK-**

"[Uwah!]" Kumagawa cried out as he looked out the window of Louise's room at the night sky. "[Hey, Louise, look! Two moons! There are two moons!]"

Louise looked at Kumagawa for a moment, pausing briefly from her writing a letter to her sister Cattleya to do so. She sighed exasperatedly. "Of course there are two moons. Really, what is wrong with you? And I told you already. You are to call me master. Not Louise."

Kumagawa stared at her for a moment, the never changing, never ceasing smile of his still plastered on his face. Then he brought one fist down onto an open palm.

"[Of course there are two moons,]" Kumagawa said, bopping his head lightly with his knuckles. "[Silly me, I don't know what I'm saying.]"

Louise sighed as she finished writing her letter and rolled it up and sealed it with wax, ready to be sent out first thing in the morning. With that done, she withdrew a horsewhip from the drawer of her desk. With that in hand, she turned to Kumagawa.

"[Louise? Why do you have a whip in your hands?]" Kumagawa asked. Louise noted curiously that Kumagawa's voice didn't carry even a hint of fear or a tone of courage or anything else in it beyond pure, genuine curiosity.

"It's 'Master' to you. Not Louise," Louise said commandingly. "This is your punishment for not addressing me properly, familiar. It'll be good to discipline you early to make you learn your place."

"[Ooh, so that's what this is about,]" Kumagawa said. He continued smiling and nodded once. "[Okay! Whip away, Louise.]"

"It's 'Master' to you!" Louise repeated as she cracked the whip down on Kumagawa's body.

"[Ehhh, but I don't wanna call you master though,]" Kumagawa said as a tear appeared on his jacket. Despite the fact that it had obviously hurt, the boy in black made no signs of discomfort in the least.

"You will!" Louise said as she brought the whip down again, causing a tear in his jacket.

"[I don't wanna.]"

Louise narrowed her eyes at her stubborn familiar. "Very well then. We will continue this until you learn your place."

"[Go right ahead,]" Kumagawa smiled cheerfully.

"We'll see how long that attitude lasts," Louise growled as she began lashing Kumagawa again.

And again.

And again.

By the end of it, Louise found herself sweating profusely and breathing hard as she greedily gasped for breath. She had whipped Kumagawa so many times that she had long since lost count. On his part, however, Kumagawa simply stood there, skin bloody and clothes torn, but still, as always, smiling eerily.

"[That's no good,]" Kumagawa shook his head and chided as if he was talking down to a little kid who had made a mistake. He walked over to Louise's desk and picked up a knife-like letter opener before returning to stand in front of Louise. Having tired herself out far too much, Louise could only watch as Kumagawa gently took the whip away from her and replaced it with the letter opener, wrapping his own hands over hers to make sure her grip was kept tight. "[If you really want to punish a Minus like me, you have to do at least this much.]"

"H-hey. What are you doing, familiar?" Louise watched in horror as Kumagawa brought his smiling face close to hers and then gently, but firmly guided the knife directly into his right eye, piercing it slowly, carefully, and causing blood to burst out of his eye like a bursting raspberry. And though she tried to pull away, she was simply too exhausted to break free from even his relatively weak grip. "Stop! You're going to die!"

But Kumagawa did not stop. Instead, his smile turned more gleeful, spread more broadly, as he drove in the knife even harder. Blood poured down the right side of Kumagawa's face, some of it flowing down the letter opener and to Louise's hand and arm as well. Through the sensation transmitted through the knife, Louise could feel the knife stabbing something soft and large. His brain?

"S-stop it!" Louise ordered as bile threatened to claw its way out of her mouth in disgust and horror. She felt nauseous and dizzy, as if she were about to faint.

"[This much,]" Kumagawa said with the broadest, most gleeful smile Louise had seen since she first summoned him. "[You have to do at least this much.]"

When Kumagawa finally released Louise's hand, it was when the letter opener was driven completely into and through his socket, such that only the base of the hilt of the small knife, glistening red from the blood that coated it and pouring down his face, could be seen in place of the eyeball. He then dug his fingers around the hilt until he found purchase on it, and then slowly drew it out, taking his pierced eyeball out with it like some kind of macabre skewer. With the letter opener that served as a stopper gone, the blood began flooding out of his eye socket in earnest now.

"[Are you alright, Louise?]" Kumagawa said as he set the small knife on the table. "[You look pale.]"

"I... I told you to stop," Louise said in horror as she looked at Kumagawa's bloody face, at his missing eye. Then she looked down at her own hand. It, like her familiar's face, was coated in wet blood. "I... I..."

Finally, unable to handle it anymore, Louise's mind shut down and she dropped to the floor, unconscious.


	2. Chapter 2 - The Familiar of Chaos

"Unnngh..." Louise moaned as she blinked her eyes open. The warm feeling of the sun on her cheeks told her that it was morning. "What...?"

Louise suddenly bolted up and looked around the room as the memories of the events of the night before returned to her. The letter opener. The blood. Her familiar.

Her familiar...?

Wait, why was Kumagawa sleeping peacefully on a pillow formed from a pile of her panties? And why was he wearing one on his head like a hat? No, Louise shook her head, forget that for a moment. More importantly, why was he still alive?

Louise climbed out of bed and stood up, noticing that she was still dressed in her Academy uniform, and that her arm, which should have been thickly coated with blood, was completely clean. Quietly, she walked over to Kumagawa's sleeping form and looked down at him.

He was definitely alive. But how? She had definitely seen him forcibly cause her to inflict a fatal injury to himself. She had felt with her own hand his brain getting pierced deeply. A fatal wound. There was no way he should still be alive.

Gulping down her fear, Louise silently knelt down beside Kumagawa and reached over to his closed right eye. But before she could open his eyelids to check, he woke up and opened them both on his own.

"[Good morning, Louise,]" he greeted her with a smile.

Louise looked into Kumagawa's eyes in bewilderment. They were there. They were both there. For a minute, the two simply stared at each other in silence.

"How are you still alive?" Louise finally said.

"[Eh? What do you mean?]" Kumagawa said quizzically. "[Of course I'm alive. Why wouldn't I be alive?]"

"B-but last night," Louise said, bewildered. "You stabbed yourself in the eye! All the way to your brain! You should be dead right now!"

Kumagawa chuckled and shook his head. "[It sounds like you just had a bad dream. After you summoned me, we returned here and you were so upset at having summoned a weakling like me that you fell right asleep. That's all that happened. Really.]"

Louise stumbled backwards unconsciously as she brought a hand to her temple in concentration.

_Is that really what happened?_ Louise wondered. _It would explain how he's still alive, and I do remember that I did felt very upset at having summoned a commoner. It's possible... Yes, there's no other way he would still be alive. That must be it for sure._

With that settled in her mind, Louise cleared her throat and once more regained her composure.

"And why are you wearing my panties on your head and using them as pillows, you dog?" Louise said authoritatively.

"[Because panties are wonderful!]" Kumagawa declared proudly. "[They are what makes the world go round. As a man, how could I not take the chance to use a panty pillow and to wear one on my head?]"

"That doesn't even make any sense!" Louise cried out. Then she sighed. "It seems you need to be punished, you dog. I'll beat that sick behavior out of you."

"[Go right ahead,]" Kumagawa smiled cheerfully.

"We'll see how long that attitude lasts," Louise growled as she went over to her desk to take out her horsewhip.

Then she froze with her arm reaching halfway out towards her desk drawer.

Wait a minute. Hadn't she had this exact same conversation before? In fact, hadn't she had it just last night? But... No. That was a dream. It was definitely just a dream. There was no way it wasn't a dream.

"[Is something wrong?]" Kumagawa asked. "[Why'd you freeze up?]"

"It's nothing," Louise whispered hoarsely. Upon noticing that she had whispered instead of speaking properly, she cleared her throat and repeated herself more loudly and clearly. "It's nothing."

Shaking the distracting thoughts out of her head, Louise finished the motion of opening the drawer and prepared to reach inside to take out her horsewhip. But when she opened the drawer, Louise's eyes went wide and she sharply sucked in a breath as she unconsciously took a fearful step backward.

There, where there should have been her horsewhip, was instead the very same letter opener from the night before, but clean and bloodless.

Louise immediately slammed the drawer shut and whirled around to face Kumagawa, who had stood up and was facing her with his hands harmlessly at his side and with his head tilted slightly downward so that the shadow of his hair covered the details of his facial features, except for his broad, eerie grin, causing it to stand out in the absence of other details.

"[What's wrong?]" Kumagawa asked. "[Weren't you going to punish me? Why aren't you taking that thing in the drawer and punishing me with it? Come on. Hurry up. Punish me, Louse.]"

"I... I changed my mind," Louise stammered. She swallowed and forced herself to remain calm. "Come on. We're leaving. You will be accompanying me to breakfast and classes. And take off my panties from your head."

**-SCENE BREAK-**

"[This place is pretty big,]" Kumagawa said as he let his eyes wander around the dining hall as the two of them took their seats; Louise sitting at the dining table and Kumagawa on the ground beside her.

"Yes, it is," Louise agreed, carefully making sure that her voice remained level. "This place is, after all, the prestigious Tristain Academy of Magic. No expense was spared in constructing this place."

"[Magic, huh? I wonder if that's enough to beat Anshin'in?]" Kumagawa mused, his smile, for the first time since his summoning, vanished and was replaced by a serious, thoughtful frown.

"Anshin'in? Who's that?" Louise asked, genuinely curious as to who this "Anshin'in" was. Surely he or she must be important to Kumagawa in some way if the mere thought was enough to erase his never faltering smile.

"[It's more of 'whoever' than 'who.']" Kumagawa shook his head. "[Well, don't worry about it. Anyway, magic sounds like it'd be fun to use. Can I learn too?]"

Though she did not know exactly why, Louise had a very bad feeling about laughing at Kumagawa's words right now. Thus, she instead stifled the laughter threatening to bubble out of her, and instead replied with a calm, almost emotionless tone. "No, you can't. Only nobles have the ability to use magic. And actually, magic is what determines nobility."

"[Aw, dammit,]" Kumagawa sighed disappointingly. "[I thought it would be cool to cast a few spells, but I guess nothing ever really goes my way.]"

Louise made a noncommittal shrug and began eating her breakfast. And as she ate, she began thinking. There was something very, very strange about this familiar. Even ignoring the night's events, no, the dream, Kumagawa had genuinely thought that he could learn magic. Was there any commoner in the world who actually believed that?

"Ara? Why, if it isn't Louise Valliere."

Louise turned around and upon seeing the one standing behind her, she narrowed her eyes. "Kirche," Louise spat. "What do you want?"

"My, my," Kirche smirked. "So belligerent, Louise. Can't a friend just drop by to say hello? Or is your temper control also zero?"

"Shut up," Louise snarled. "We are _not_ friends."

"Oh, really?" Kirche said with mock disappointment. She glanced furtively at Kumagawa. "By the way, where's your familiar? I've been _dying_ to see. You did say that you were going to summon something amazing, like a dragon or a griffin, right?"

So. That was why she was here. Louise ground her teeth together in anger. She should have expected that.

"Well?" Kirche said with a broad smirk on her face. "Where's your familiar? Or did you just not summon anything at all?"

Silently, Louise stiffly pointed at Kumagawa, who had been taking advantage of his low position and angle to peek up Kirche's skirt during their conversation.

"[Black silk lace panties,]" Kumagawa nodded approvingly. "[Nice!]"

"Pfft! That's your familiar, Louise? It doesn't look like a dragon or a griffin to me. But at least your familiar has good taste," Kirche chuckled, not even bothering to try and stop Kumagawa from peeking. She bent over slightly and reached out with her hand, palm facing upward and said with amusement, "Here, shake," as if she were talking to a dog.

With a smile, Kumagawa began reaching up to shake her hand, but in the instant before their hands made contact, Kirche suddenly withdrew her hand so fast that it moved like a blur as she simultaneously jumped back and away from Kumagawa. Furthermore, Kirche's eyes had gone wide and she was breathing rapidly as she clutched the hand she had held out with her other hand, as if to ensure that it was still there.

Louise watched Kirche with keen eyes. Did the Germanian sense something from Kumagawa?

"[Something wrong?]" Kumagawa asked, hand still reached out.

"N-no..." Kirche stammered. She glanced at Louise. "Louise. Come with me for a moment. I need to speak with you. Privately."

Normally, Louise would have ignored Kirche's request for a private conversation, but she had clearly sensed something from Kumagawa, and Louise simply had to know what it was.

"Alright," Louise said as she stood up. "Wait here, familiar."

"[Okay,]" Kumagawa said as he waved at the two departing noble girls.

Once the two of them had left the dining room to stand in the hallway, Kirche turned to Louise and immediately demanded, "Alright, Louise. Just _what_ in name of Brimir himself did you summon?"

"What are you talking about, Kirche?" Louise said suspiciously. "Can't you see he's just a commoner?"

"I'm serious, Louise," Kirche said urgently. "When we were about to shake hands, it felt as if I was reaching into... I don't know... into a pit of darkness and despair. I would rather have chopped off my own hand than shake that thing's hand. Look, I know we don't get along, but I have good instincts, and my instincts are screaming at me that that thing you summoned is dangerous. Louise, has it done anything to you?"

Louise bit her lips as she considered telling Kirche about what happened last night. But... No. That was just a dream. Just. A. Dream.

"Great Brimir," Kirche breathed as she watched Louise internally debate with herself. "It did do something, didn't it?"

"I... I'm not sure," Louise admitted. "It was probably just a dream. There's no way it wasn't."

"Tell me," Kirche said.

Louise hesitated, but then nodded and told Kirche about what had happened, or at least what she thought had happened.

"You mean to tell me he makes you stab him through the eye and all the way to the brain, causing you to faint. And then the next day, he's not only alive, but it's as if the entire thing never even happened?" Kirche said disbelievingly.

"I know, I know," Louise sighed. "It's unbelievable. That's why I said it was probably just a dream."

"Do _you_ think it's a dream?" Kirche asked bluntly.

"... No," Louise admitted. "Everything felt too real to be just a dream. But if it's not a dream, what else could it be? It's impossible for him to be alright otherwise."

"That would only be true if it was human," Kirche said darkly. "In any case, Louise. Be careful around that thing and watch it carefully. Okay?"

"Why are you even worried about me?" Louise asked her long-time foe curiously and without rancor. "We hate each other."

"Yeah," Kirche agreed, "but it's like how no true human could just stand by and watch another fellow human to get eaten by a demon or something. That's the kind of feeling I get from your familiar. A demon."

"[Well, that's kind of mean calling me a demon, Miss Black Lace Panties.]"

Louise and Kirche both whirled around to see Kumagawa leaning against the wall behind them. In his hand was a half-eaten loaf of bread. Despite having been insulted, he did not look the least bit angry, judging by that smile on his face. Then again, perhaps that eerie smile was a mask used to hide his emotions?

"What are you doing here?" Louise said carefully. "I told you to wait inside."

"[I got bored,]" Kumagawa shrugged and bit into the bread. "[And there's something I wanted to talk with Miss Black Lace Panties about.]"

"And what's that?" Kirche asked cautiously.

"[While black silk lace panties are nice,]" Kumagawa said seriously, "[I was thinking that you should try using black garters as well. Oh, but stay away from white. I think black is the best color for you.]"

"... I'll keep that in mind," Kirche said. "I'll see you later, Louise."

With that, Kirche quickly departed. Instead of running, however, she simply walked quickly, taking long, confident strides. Louise was reminded of the advice she had once heard from her mother long ago about dealing with powerful wild, carnivorous beasts: Do not run, because that shows weakness to a predator. Instead, walk calmly, deliberately, and in that manner, escape as quickly as possible.

Once Kirche vanished around a corner in the distance, Louise glanced obliquely at Kumagawa. "Come on," Louise said. "Class will be starting soon."

**-SCENE BREAK-**

A part of Louise couldn't help but feel impressed at the lengths the normally lazy students of the Academy would go to to make fun of her. Typically, Louise came to class half an hour early, if possible, so that she could grab a front row seat. In fact, she was almost always the first person in the classroom.

Today, however, the class was at least half-full, and the reason why was evident the moment Louise stepped into the classroom, for they immediately began roaring with laughter.

"It's true! The Zero summoned a commoner!" one of the students, a blond girl with ringlets named Montmorency called out.

"Oh, man, there's a limit to how much even a Zero like you can fail, Louise!" a fat boy, Malicorne, shouted.

Louise stoically bore the insults, though she visibly shook with rage and humiliation. This much was to be expected, she knew. At the very least, only half of the class had shown up, instead of the entirety of it. As she began to move down the aisles to find her own seat, she felt herself be stopped by a hand on her shoulder. Louise glanced up to look at the hand's owner, Kumagawa.

"[Hey, Louise,]" Kumagawa said without a smile. "[Why are they making fun of you?]"

"Because I summoned you, instead of a proper familiar like them," Louise said bitterly. She pointed at a group of familiars resting in the back of the room. Among them were giant snakes, cats, owls, a giant mole, and others. "Those are proper familiars."

"[Oh, really?]" Kumagawa mused. "[But that's still not very nice of them.]"

"It doesn't matter," Louise said. "Come on. I need to take a seat."

Louise led Kumagawa down the aisle, but even as they walked, her fellow peers continued throwing out insults at her, and though she tried her best to block them out, it was impossible. With every insult, she could feel another tiny piece of her chip and break away.

"You know, I wonder if Louise even _actually_ summoned a familiar? I mean, whoever heard of a commoner being summoned?"

"Good point. Hey, Louise! Are you sure you didn't just hire a commoner to play as your familiar?"

That was the final straw. Louise stood up and whirled around and shouted at the entire class. "Shut up! Just shut up, all of you! I did do a summoning properly, but he's the only thing that came out!"

This only set them off into an even more raucous, mocking laughter, and they continued to rain down jeers upon her.

"[Louise, Louise, Louise,]" Kumagawa sighed and shook his head as he put a hand on her shoulder. "[You're doing this all wrong.]"

"What are you talking about?" Louise said bitterly.

"[If you're mad that they summoned better familiars, if they're making fun of you for summoning a bad familiar,]" Kumagawa said just loudly enough for the entire class to listen, "[the solution is simple. You just need to bring them down to your level. Yeah... For starters, how about making all of them lose their familiars?]"

That immediately silenced the entire class. All thought and feelings of anger and humiliation were suddenly forgotten for Louise. Instead, she once more remembered the night before, no, the dream, Louise corrected herself.

"And what do you mean by that?" Louise said hesitantly.

Kumagawa grinned widely, evilly, as he raised one hand into the air. "[This is what I mean.]"

The instant he snapped his fingers, all of the other familiars immediately began making loud noises. They roared, squealed, hissed, croaked, and made all manner of panicked or angry noises.

"[Hahaha! Run free my familiar brethren!]" Kumagawa shouted gleefully, as if this were one big joke to him.

The nobles in the classroom frantically tried to calm their frantic familiars, but it was no use. All of them squirmed their way free of the nobles' clutches and escaped out of the windows or into the halls, stampeding their way to freedom. And yet, despite the fact that their cherished familiars had just run away, none of the nobles had run to chase after them. Instead, they were all still in the room, staring darkly at Kumagawa.

"[And now, Louise,]" Kumagawa said, "[no one can make fun of you, because unlike them, at least you have a familiar.]"

"I..." Louise began to say, but was suddenly cut off by the angry uproar of the class.

"Zero! What the hell did your familiar just do!?" the loudest of them, a blonde boy, shouted. "He made my Verdandi run away!"

"[Ah, it's very simple. I just made the magic contracts binding those animals as familiars into nothing,]" Kumagawa answered the boy. "[Or in other words, I freed them.]"

"Freed them?" the boy spluttered angrily. "You stole our familiars away from us!"

Shouts of agreement sprung up from the rest of the students.

"[Trust me,]" Kumagawa said casually, "[if your familiar actually liked you, it would have stayed with you even after I erased the contract. The only thing you were doing was keeping your familiar as a slave. You know, when I think about it that way, your entire summoning and familiar system is kind of evil, you know that?]"

"How dare you... How dare you!" the blonde boy snarled. He was so angry, it seemed that he had become incoherent.

But none of that concerned Louise. What was concerning her was that Kumagawa had just _erased_ the contract between mage and familiar. That was impossible to do! A familiar's contract only ends when it dies, and yet, Kumagawa had done just that. How is it that nobody else seemed to recognize the gravity of that fact? Were they too swallowed up in their anger at Kumagawa to notice or care?

"Fight me in a duel, you bastard," the boy demanded. "I, Guiche de Gramont, shall punish you for your actions!"

"[Eh. I don't wanna,]" Kumagawa said as he sat down on Louise's desk. "[Why should I duel you? None of this would have happened if you guys didn't make fun of Louise for summoning me. So it's not my fault. It's your guys' fault.]"

Every student there, save for Louise, suddenly took out their wand and pointed it directly at Kumagawa.

"Either you fight in a duel or else we'll kill you here and now," Guiche said in deadly earnest.

Kumagawa glanced around at the class and the forest of wands with a smile on his face. Then he sighed. "[Fine. I'll fight you. Let's go.]"

**-SCENE BREAK-**

Louise shifted uncomfortably from where she stood in the sidelines of the crowd. After Kumagawa accepted the duel, the entire class had moved to the Vestri Courtyard, an isolated place with no decorations at all, making it the perfect place for a duel. Facing each other in the courtyard was Kumagawa and Guiche.

Louise bit her lower lips and wrung her hands in front of her. On one hand, she wanted to stop this duel, but she also knew that that was impossible now. The nobles were all too angry at Kumagawa for what he did to their familiars. On the other hand, she also wanted this duel to go on because she found herself morbidly curious about whether or not the dream was truly reality. But on the third hand, even though Guiche was just a dot class earth mage, that was still far more than a normal commoner could defeat.

But the key word there was "normal." She had a feeling that Kumagawa was anything but normal.

Guiche waved his wand, which was modified to look like an artificial rose, causing a single petal to fall to the ground. When it touched the earth, a bronze golem in the shape of a female warrior of myth, complete with sword and armor, rose up.

"My name is Guiche the Bronze," Guiche declared, more out of formality than anything else. "As such, this bronze Valkyrie shall be your opponent!"

"[I'm Kumagawa the, um... Kumagawa!]" Kumagawa said in a bad attempt to match Guiche's theatrical self-introduction. "[Anyway, in manga, I should be the one to make the first move, right? So here it goes!]"

Kumagawa charged forth towards Guiche in a brave, but stupid charge. Predictably, the Valkyrie stepped in the way and intercepted Kumagawa with a powerful bronze fist slammed into his ribcage. Even from where Louise stood, she could hear the sickening crunch of breaking bones, and Kumagawa coughed up blood piteously as he fell.

"[I think you broke four or five ribs just now,]" Kumagawa commented not with anger or fear or calmness, but rather with joy. "[Let's try this again.]"

Once more, Kumagawa charged forward blindly. Once more, he was sent flying back by the Valkyrie's punch. This time, however, he had managed to raise an arm in time to guard himself. But as a result, that arm had been snapped in two, and was bending at a hideous angle, as if it were a broken twig hanging on by a mere strand.

"[Oh. Well, there goes my right arm,]" Kumagawa said as he looked at his broken limb. "[Well, like they say. Third time's the charm, right?]"

Again and again, Kumagawa charged forward to close the distance gap between him and Guiche, but each time he was sent flying back by the Valkyrie guardian, breaking another part of Kumagawa's body in the process. Yet, despite the fact that this kind of scene was exactly what those watching wanted to see, no one was excited. Instead, a sickening atmosphere was slowly taking hold in the air, and its source was clearly Kumagawa. The way he stood back up should have been almost inspiring or at the very least commendable for its bravery and stupidity. Yet it wasn't anything like that. It was simply _wrong._ Even Guiche was looking unnerved.

It was exactly like watching a bad dream unfold.

"[I think my collarbone is broken now. It must have pierced my lungs now,]" Kumagawa said as he stood up in a completely unnatural way. From where he was lying on the ground, he bent his legs to put his feet beneath him, and then slowly stood up, legs first. When his legs were nearly perpendicular with the ground, his back was bent backwards as if his spine was snapped, almost parallel to the ground, and his arms were moving as if they had a mind of their own. "[This will cause aftereffects for the rest of my life, I think.]"

Kumagawa wobbled his way over to Guiche, one hand reaching out to him lethargically. It was surprising that Kumagawa was even capable of walking, Louise noted in some detached corner of her mind. He had taken so much damage, it wouldn't have been surprising if he had died with just half the amount of injuries he suffered.

Perhaps it was because of that seemingly undying nature that Guiche took a hesitant step backwards.

"[Hey, where are you going?]" Kumagawa called out upon seeing Guiche retreat a step. "[Come back and play with me.]"

"U-uwaaah!" Guiche suddenly screamed and whipped his wand at Kumagawa's direction.

In response, Guiche's Valkyrie suddenly lunged forward and went on the offensive for the first time.

"Stop it!" Louise screamed even as the Valkyrie pierced through Kumagawa's heart with its sword.

"[Oh,]" Kumagawa said in surprise as he fell backwards and died.

**-SCENE BREAK-**

"Hello, Kumagawa. How did you die this time?"

Kumagawa blinked slowly from where he sat; a desk commonly seen in the classrooms of Japanese middle schools. Considering that the room he was in was modeled after just that, a classroom, it wasn't unusual in the least. After a moment, Kumagawa looked up. At the head of the classroom, sitting on the teacher's desk, was a very beautiful girl. She wore a sailor uniform of the sort used in many Japanese schools, but with a sleeveless white blouse with red trimmings and scarf, and a short red skirt that came down to her mid-thighs. Her legs were covered by a pair of stockings and her unusually long, voluminous hair was tied behind her by a ribbon. Written in marker on her soft slippers was the name "Anshin'in."

When Kumagawa did not respond, Anshin'in simply continued speaking.

"I have to say, Kumagawa," Anshin'in said. "Even I never expected something like this to happen to you. This place... Halkeginia. Who would have thought that a world like this could have existed?"

"[Anshin'in,]" Kumagawa simply said. There was no smile on his face. Only an expressionless gaze aimed at the one who lived within his heart, sealed away from reality by him personally. "[Please don't lie to me. It's obvious that you already knew about this world.]"

In response, Anshin'in simply smiled and shook her head. "Nope! I mean it when I say that not even I was aware that this world existed. That's because it exists in a reality completely different from our own. After all, you can't expect a character from one manga to know about the characters and events of another manga. Even in official crossovers, those are just onetime events and none of the characters remember anything about it in their own continuity."

"[Is that so?]" Kumagawa said.

"But using one of my 12 quadrillion skills, Past Recall, I already know everything about this world's history," Anshin'in said. "It's some pretty interesting stuff, you know."

"[Actually, I don't know,]" Kumagawa said bluntly. "[Because I'm not omniscient.]"

"No, no," Anshin'in laughed. "Not even I'm omniscient. All I know is what anyone else could learn, if they had enough time and resources. But anyways, don't you think you were going a little too easy on that Guiche kid? If it's you, you could have beaten him easily. Why didn't you?"

Instead of replying, Kumagawa simply stood up and began walking over to the door.

"Don't want to answer?" Anshin'in shrugged. "Well, that's fine. I think I have a pretty good idea what you were thinking. You wanted to see if magic would be good enough to beat me. Even in another world, you just don't give up trying to find someone who can defeat me, do you?"

Kumagawa paused by the door and turned his head to the side to stare at Anshin'in obliquely.

"So? What did you think about their magic?" Anshin'in said.

"[... Disappointing.]"

"Oh, really?" Anshin'in smiled. "Ah, before you go, I have one more thing to tell you. Hey, wait!"

However, instead of listening, Kumagawa simply opened the door and walked out, leaving Anshin'in alone once more in the classroom of his heart.

**-SCENE BREAK-**

"You killed him!" Louise screamed at Guiche. "You killed my familiar!"

"It was his fault!" Guiche yelled back, so his face was pale. "He released all of our familiars!"

"Hey, speaking of which," someone from the crowd murmured, "how _did_ he do that? Isn't that supposed to be impossible?"

Louise felt like palming her face in frustration. _Now_ they notice how unusual that was?

"Even so, you didn't need to kill him!" Louise argued.

"[Oi, oi, who's dead?]"

Everyone whirled around in shock. Standing there, where he should have been lying on the ground, bleeding and dead, was Kumagawa. His broken bones and bloody wounds were all healed without exception. No, that wasn't right. They weren't healed. They were simply gone, as if they never happened. Even his clothes were in the exact same condition as before the fight.

"What in Brimir's name?" Guiche breathed. "You're alive? Impossible!"

"[Alive?]" Kumagawa cocked his head and smiled. "[Of course I'm alive. I never died.]"

"You died! You definitely died!" Guiche said, his pale face becoming paler. "My Valkyrie killed you!"

Louise found herself unconsciously taking very small, shallow breaths as the blood ran cold in her body. It was happening again, just like in the dream... No. Now she knew for certain that it was not a dream. She wasn't sure how he was doing it, but she knew for certain that there never had been a dream.

"[Oh, really?]" Kumagawa said as if this was all news to him. "[But all you did was stab me in the heart. If you want to try and kill me, at least do this much.]"

Out of nowhere, a giant metal screw suddenly appeared in Kumagawa's hands. And with it, he stabbed it directly into the side of his head until its point came out on the other side. Students all around screamed in horror at Kumagawa's suicidal action, while some of the weaker stomached ones vomited in disgust.

"[This much,]" Kumagawa said as blood, bits of skull, and oozing grey matter poured down the sides of his head. "[You have to do at least this much.]"

"Founder Brimir," Guiche swore. "What _are _you!?"

Louise took an unconscious step backward. It was happening again. Just like last night, it was happening again.

"[I'm Kumagawa Misogi,]" Kumagawa said as the screw in his head vanished and his skull was completely restored to normal in an instant. "[A Minus.]"

"A Minus?" Guiche said. "What the he-"

But before Guiche could say anymore, Kumagawa had closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye, as if the speed of his previous attempts were just a lie. When he stopped moving, it was when he was standing a few feet past Guiche, who was lying on the ground, impaled by a giant screw straight through his heart. With the blank expression of the dead, Guiche was dribbling blood out of his mouth and where the screw had impaled him.

For a moment, everyone stared in complete disbelief. Then they started screaming in panicked uproar.

"He killed Guiche!" Montmorency screamed. "Louise! Your familiar killed Guiche!"

"I... I..." Louise's eyes were wide with horror as she stared at the corpse of Guiche.

"[Killed?]" Kumagawa turned to look at Montmorency and smiled. "[What are you talking about?]"

"You killed- Eek!" Montmorency screamed again as Guiche slowly stood back up, completely unharmed.

"W-what's going on? I... I'm alive?" Guiche said in wonder as he stared at his own hands and flexed them, as if to ensure himself that he was indeed still alive. "How?"

Louise was wondering the same thing too. Coming back from the dead? Bringing someone else back? Both should be impossible. Suddenly, Louise was reminded of what Kirche had told her. Of what she thought about Kumagawa.

Demon.

Swallowing down her fear, Louise spoke. "Kumagawa, what are you?"

"[That's a strange question,]" Kumagawa smiled. "[I'm human, of course.]"

"Okay, then how did you do, well, all of that?" Louise asked. "How did you free the familiars and come back from the dead and bring Guiche back as well? Those are all impossible."

"[Hm... Should I tell you?]" Kumagawa crossed his arms and contemplated it for a moment. Then he nodded. "[Okay, I'll tell you. All I did was make the reality that you guys summoned a familiar, the reality that I was killed, and the reality that blondie there died, become nothing. Making reality become nothing. That is my Minus, All-Fiction.]"

"Impossible!" Guiche said immediately, with several other students voicing their agreement. "You cannot simply undo reality!"

Louise, on the other hand, understood that, yes, Kumagawa could. She didn't know how, but he had shown more than enough proof that he could do exactly what he said. And if not, at least do something so similar that it made telling a difference at this point all but impossible.

"[Shall I prove it?]" Kumagawa grinned wickedly. "[I could even make your ability to use magic into nothing, you know.]"

At that, Guiche, along with every other student, suddenly blanched. Whether or not Kumagawa could do as he said, none of them were willing to test it and find out. So instead, Guiche and the others immediately bolted, screaming as they ran as fast as they could out of the courtyard, leaving Kumagawa and Louise all alone.

"Can you really do that?" Louise asked once she was certain that everyone else was out of earshot range. "Take away their ability to use magic, I mean."

"[Of course,]" Kumagawa said cheerfully. "[Why? Do you want me to?]"

Louise immediately shook her head violently. "No! No! Don't take away their magic!"

"[Don't worry,]" Kumagawa smiled. "[I never intended to, of course.]"

"Really?"

"[Who knows?]" Kumagawa shrugged. "[Maybe. Maybe not.]"

"Kumagawa!" Louise said, aghast. "You mustn't do that!"

"[Why not?]" Kumagawa asked curiously. "[Why do you care? Weren't they making fun of you for being a failure? But if they can't use magic, then they can't make fun of you and everyone would be equal.]"

"No! That's wrong!" Louise shook her head, stomping her foot for emphasis. "If they're better than me, I need to work harder to catch up to them! Not bring them down to my level!"

"[... That's disappointing,]" Kumagawa sighed. "[I thought you could be a Minus, but I guess you're not.]"

"You said that term before. Minus," Louise said, deciding to change the topic to something hopefully less dangerous. "What is that?"

"[We, Minus, are the losers, the downtrodden, the weaklings, the insulted,]" Kumagawa said. "[We are the ones who experienced the worst, which allows us to do the worst. And through it all, we, Minuses, are the ones who always smile.]"

"And... you're happy with that?" Louise asked.

"[Of course!]" Kumagawa smiled.

"I see... Then, in any case, let's go back," Louise said.

As they walked back into the Academy, Louise thought again about what Kirche had said. About the true nature of Kumagawa. And she shuddered slightly, as she realized that what she had summoned might be even worse than a demon.


	3. Chapter 3 - Panty Thief

_Author's notes:_

_So, a person commented that Kumagawa actually uses _『』 _these in his speech patterns instead of _[ ]._ I know that. However, since I have no idea how to type that out on my computer, and since I am sure as hell not going to spend an obscene amount of time having to constantly copypaste that, I made do with what I could._

_Also, to that same person, the _[ ] _do not replace the _" ". _They are meant to signify a particular manner in how Kumagawa speaks, kind of like how if a person suddenly speaks in all caps, it means they're being very loud. _

**-STORY START-**

"So is it true what they say about your familiar, Miss Valliere? That he somehow _erased_ the familiar contract between all the students in the class and their familiars?" Osmond said severely. "All at once?"

Louise fidgeted uncomfortably as she bore the hard stares of Headmaster Osmond, Professor Colbert, and several other teachers. The only person there who wasn't staring at her in a severe or disbelieving manner was the headmaster's beautiful green-haired secretary: Miss Longueville. Beside Louise, Kumagawa was standing there, looking bored.

It had not taken long for the news of yesterday's duel and the events preceding to spread. At first, the rumors had started fairly honestly. It had been about how Kumagawa had somehow erased the magical contracts of the familiar ritual and had come back to life after being killed. But it had not taken long for the rumors to rapidly change their shape. Now, the prevalent rumor was that Louise's familiar could somehow spread her "Zero-ness" and make it contagious, something that had become known as the "Zero disease." They weren't even talking about the fact that Kumagawa had come back from the dead and had brought back Guiche as well, a fact that angered Louise as that was entirely unfair.

After all, it was not her fault in the least that they lost their familiars. The so-called "Zero disease" wasn't even real! Kumagawa had _literally_ explained what he did. Using his "All-Fiction," he undid the reality that they had summoned and contracted their familiars.

…

Okay. Maybe it was understandable that they believed such inane nonsense as the Zero disease. Undoing reality was something that was completely impossible after all. But it was still unfair.

_Well, at least the teachers know the truth,_ Louise thought.

"I think so, Headmaster," Louise said. "I mean, it's impossible to tell for sure, but that's what Kumagawa says happened."

"Kumagawa? Is that your familiar's name?" Osmond asked curiously.

"Yes, sir," Louise nodded. She glanced aside at Kumagawa and inwardly groaned and nearly palmed her face.

Kumagawa had dropped to his hands and knees and was crouching right beside Osmond's mouse familiar and mimicking its actions. That is to say, Kumagawa, like the mouse, was staring up Miss Longueville's skirt.

In response, Longueville angrily stopped down her feet twice; once to crush the mouse, though she missed as it quickly scurried its way back to Osmond, and the other to stomp on Kumagawa, which she succeeded in doing.

"And what do you two familiars think you are doing?" Longueville asked icily.

"[I was so inspired by that mouse's actions that I couldn't help but copy it,]" Kumagawa said happily even as Longueville ground her foot against Kumagawa's head. "[A mouse that peeks at a woman's panties? What an amazing mouse! But... Instead of white, I think you should use black. Black is just more mature and is nice and sexy.]"

This time, Louise really did facepalm, as she flushed in humiliation at her familiar's display. Most of the other teachers in the room were coughing awkwardly and also looked embarrassed, though none as much as Miss Longueville herself, who was also angrier than all of the other teachers put together. The only one who wasn't sharing a similar reaction was Osmond.

"Oh! You think so too?" Osmond said excitedly. "For Miss Longueville, black really is the way to go! White is just too goodygoody for her!"

In an instant, Kumagawa escaped from beneath Longueville's heel and reappeared in front of Osmond's desk.

"[That's exactly it!]" Kumagawa enthused. "[She's really better off going with the 'sexy seductive teacher' image. White panties are for the 'innocent and pure' types, so she shouldn't use those.]"

"Indeed, indeed," Osmond nodded sagely in agreement. "She really should stay away from the innocent and pure panties, and stick with the sexy ones. They fit her so much better."

"I am too innocent and pure!" Longueville shouted angrily, and then instantly flushed abashedly as she realized what she had just said. "Ahem. I mean, Headmaster, let us return to the actual topic at hand. Now."

"If we must," Osmond sighed ruefully. No doubt he wanted to discuss more about Longueville's panties with Kumagawa, a person who shared his interests. "So, then, Kumagawa. Could you explain to us how you erased the familiar's contract, and, according to the reports, returned to life after being killed by Guiche de Gramont, who you also brought back to life after you killed him?"

"[I don't wanna,]" Kumagawa said dismissively. "[That's too boring. Let's talk about the green haired woman's panties. Speaking of which, don't you think she has a really nice butt?]"

"Truly, she does," Osmond agreed sagely. "Out of all those I've seen in the Academy, her butt is truly the finest."

Longueville walked up to Osmond and smacked him across the backside of his head.

"I mean," Osmond said, "please answer the question, Kumagawa."

"I'll explain, Headmaster," Louise said.

All eyes riveted upon her, except for Kumagawa who was once more looking bored by the proceedings. If there was one good thing about Kumagawa's actions, it was that it had relaxed Louise by making her feel so humiliated that she had long since gone past the point of stuttering or fidgeting and entered the realm of temporary emotional detachment from her surroundings. Of course, she would naturally later revert to normal and immediately burn with embarrassment, but for now, at least, she was able to think and speak clearly. And since that was the case, she decided that she might as well make the most of it and answer the teachers' questions.

"According to him, he possesses a power he calls 'All-Fiction' which allows him to make reality into nothing. In this case, he turned the reality that my classmates summoned and contracted a familiar into nothing," Louise said. "How exactly it works or if he's even telling the truth and not simply using tricks is unknown to me. Whatever it is, it seems completely unlike any magic I have ever heard of, even when considering the elves' Ancient Magic, though of that I only know what the stories say."

"I see," Osmond mused.

"Oh, one more thing," Louise said as she recalled something very important. "Though it has not been proven, Kumagawa's All-Fiction may even be able to erase a noble's ability to use magic."

That immediately froze everyone in the room. It occurred to Louise that given the surrealism of All-Fiction, they, the teachers, had not truly believed what Louise was telling them. But by stating the possibility of him removing from them their most cherished ability, the fearsomeness of All-Fiction suddenly became much more... perhaps not _real,_ but more _nightmarish_ for them.

"Impossible!" Mister Kaito, the first year wind magic teacher, declared, attracting every eye to him. "That is simply impossible. Even with his other purported deeds, those must have been happened some sort of trick."

"While that may be true," Colbert spoke up for the first time, "it is a fact that every student in my class was able to cast Summon Servant again, even though I had personally witnessed each and every one of them successfully summon and contract a familiar the day before. And as you know, casting Summon Servant whilst already having a familiar is a proven impossibility. Only Founder Brimir is known to have been the exception."

"Hmph. Mere tricks," Kaito said adamantly, though he offered no rebuttal to Colbert's words.

"In any case," Osmond said, "the fact of the matter is that somehow the familiar contracts were all erased, necessitating another summoning. Therefore, as punishment, Miss Valliere and her familiar are to clean a classroom every day after classes for a week. And without magic."

"Yes, Headmaster," Louise said obediently, though she groaned inwardly. Her, a Valliere, having to clean a classroom like a lowly commoner? That was absolutely humiliating. But a familiar's actions is the master's responsibility, and she needed to make amends for what Kumagawa had done. At least she wouldn't have to do this by herself. She had Kumagawa to help her.

"[No thanks,]" Kumagawa said, waving his hand airily. "[I'll pass. That sounds too boring.]"

Louise groaned and palmed her face again. Why was she even surprised that Kumagawa reacted like this?

"Kumagawa, you can't simply refuse a punishment," Osmond said patiently. "What you did was wrong, after all."

"[Eh? Really?]" Kumagawa's smile slipped ever so slightly. "[In that case, I have a question. Is bullying wrong?]"

Osmond blinked in confusion at the sudden tangent. "What are you talking about?"

"[I mean what I said,]" Kumagawa said. His smile had ceased and his face took a neutral expression. "[Is bullying wrong?]"

"Well... Yes," Osmond said. "But I fail to see where you're going with this."

"[I'm just curious why you aren't punishing the class full of bullies for bullying Louise,]" Kumagawa said with a shrug. His smile was slowly starting to return in a sinister way, and Louise was beginning to get a bad feeling about it.

"That is because..." Osmond frowned as he considered how to answer the question. After a minute pensive silence, Osmond finally said, "We have our own reasons."

"[Oh really? It sounds to me that you're just playing favorites for the elites. That's really unfair,]" Kumagawa said. "[So I don't think I will accept the punishment.]"

"Now see here, familiar," Osmond said sternly. "You cannot simply refuse the headmaster's orders. It is not your place to do so."

Kumagawa frowned thoughtfully as he considered this. Then he shrugged and impaled Osmond in the body with three giant screws.

"Great Brimir!" Colbert shouted as he whipped out his wand. However, instead of a wand, Colbert drew a thin, elongated screw. An utterly useless tool for casting magic. All around, the other teachers found their own wands somehow replaced with similar screws.

"Kumagawa! What are you doing!?" Louise shrieked in panic.

The Minus, however, wasn't paying attention. Instead, he had put the tip of another giant screw against the headmaster's forehead.

"[Did you think that just because you're the headmaster that I wouldn't attack you?]" Kumagawa said with a wide, malicious grin. "[Or perhaps it was because you thought that a noble such as yourself would not be harmed by little ol' me? That's naive.]"

Louise's eyes went wide as her mind began working frantically. Her familiar was about to kill her headmaster. He had proven before that he could bring the dead back, but didn't mean that he would. What if he simply killed the headmaster and left him dead for good? She needed to stop him. But how? She wouldn't be able to cast a spell well enough to stop Kumagawa.

Louise suddenly remembered Kumagawa's words. _"This much. You have to do at least this much."_

The petite pink-haired mage's eyes flicked towards the nearest teacher, Mrs. Chevreuse. Or rather, Louise's eyes flicked towards the thing in her hand: a sharply pointed, elongated screw.

Moving like a wildcat, Louise snatched the screw out of Chevreuse's hand and pounced on Kumagawa with a violent scream and stabbed him in the neck with the screw. Her familiar let out a large spray of blood from his punctured neck and fell to the floor.

Taking labored breaths, Louise looked at the headmaster. He was barely still alive, but they would be able to get him to the infirmary and get him healed by a water mage quickly. But why weren't the teachers moving? Why were they staring at her like that?

"H-hurry," Louise found herself struggling to say as she pointed a bloody hand at the dying headmaster. "G-get Headmaster Osmond t-to a healer."

Upon noticing her blood covered hand, Louise slowly looked down at herself. Her blouse was thoroughly soaked in blood, turning it from white to completely red. Her hands and arms were also covered in her familiar's blood, and it felt slimy and warm on her skin. Slowly, Louise tapped Kumagawa on his arm with her foot, which was also bloody from the pool of Kumagawa's blood that had formed beneath them.

"Hey, wake up, Kumagawa," Louise found herself saying, though she wondered if it was really her. Her mind felt so numb and blank, that everything felt as if it were some kind of surreal dream.

When there was no response, Louise felt everything she had eaten that day come surging up her throat, the bile forcibly clawing its way out of her body.

She vomited.

She had done it. She murdered her familiar. It had been to save her headmaster's life, but she had still murdered someone, and the blood would never wash away from her hands. When the last of the vomit ejected itself from Louise's body, she fell to her knees and screamed, clutching her head as she did, and staining her hair with blood. When she finally stopped screaming, she belatedly noticed the rustling of cloth beside her.

"[Oh, thanks for stabbing me in the neck and killing me, Louise,]" Kumagawa thanked her sincerely. "[If you hadn't stopped me, I was going to kill everyone here.]"

Louise looked up at her revived familiar blearily. There was not even a scratch nor a drop of blood on him. Louise looked back at herself. Her blouse was clean and white again, her body no longer soaked in blood or vomit.

"[What's wrong, Louise?]" Kumagawa said as he crouched down in front of the silent Louise until they were face to face and smiled at her. "[Was this your first time murdering someone? Are you afraid that the blood on your hands will never be washed away?]" Kumagawa laughed happily. "[You don't need to worry about that. No matter how much hands get soaked in blood, I will make it into nothing for you.]"

Louise began screaming again.

"[Hm... Now then,]" Kumagawa said as he stood up and looked around the room, leaving Louise to her delirious screaming. All the teachers were watching him with fearful or cautious looks. By now, Headmaster Osmond had died of blood loss, and his head was bowed heavily in the unnatural position of the dead. Kumagawa reached over the desk and flicked the headmaster on the forehead. The screws in the old man's body suddenly disappeared, and his eyes snapped open. "[But I don't exactly hate that kind of naivety,]" Kumagawa greeted Osmond with a friendly smile.

"You!" Osmond hissed as he shot to his feet and whipped his wand out from his pocket.

"[Now, now,]" Kumagawa said, raising his hands in a placating gesture. "[Let's not get violent here. We can talk things out like civilized people, right?]"

Osmond glared at Kumagawa for a moment, before slowly lowering his wand. "Leave," he said. "Now."

"[Sheesh,]" Kumagawa rolled his eyes. "[So rude. But fine, I'm going.]"

Louise had stopped screaming by this point, but she appeared to be in some sort of daze, for she did not react in the slightest to Kumagawa as he lifted her up in his arms. Like that, the Minus and the Zero left the office room.

**-SCENE BREAK-**

"Tabitha," Kirche said as she paced inside her diminutive friend's book-filled room. "We need to do something about Louise's familiar."

The blue-haired Gallian flipped a page in the book she was reading from her bed. "Why?" she said in a quiet voice.

"He's dangerous," Kirche said. "Haven't you been listening to the rumors at all? Louise and that familiar get called into the headmaster's office. She's seen carried out by the familiar as if she's in a coma. No one has even seen or heard from her since then, and it's been two days! And every teacher I've tried asking act as if they're being threatened not to speak a word about it!"

"Can't," Tabitha said as she flipped another page.

"I know we can't kill him, Tabitha. I've heard the news of the duel," Kirche said exasperatedly. "But if you and I work together, we can force him to leave."

"How?"

"It's simple," Kirche said. "If he can't die, then all it means is that we have to keep killing him until he can't take it anymore. If we can force him mentally to accept defeat, then we can force him to leave the Academy."

Tabitha was silent for a minute as she continued reading. Then, she placed a thin strip of leather in the book as a bookmark and closed it. She looked directly at her friend and said, "When?"

Kirche smiled warmly at her friend. "Tonight."

**-SCENE BREAK-**

Even now, Foquet found herself shivering as she recalled what had happened in the headmaster's office two days ago. She had seen many strange things in her life, but none as _wrong_ as the familiar known as Kumagawa. She found herself wondering exactly what Kumagawa was. At the beginning, he seemed like a regular, albeit incredibly perverted kid, perhaps only a few years younger than herself.

By the end, however, he had become something straight out of a nightmare. Like a demon, or worse.

Foquet shook her head, forcing the thoughts out of her mind. She didn't have time to think about that. The final preparations for her heist needed to be made ready. The moment she had been preparing for was finally here. She would steal the Staff of Destruction tonight.

**-SCENE BREAK-**

"So I really did die," Osmond murmured as he pressed his mouth against the steeple formed of his fingers, his elbows planted firmly on his office desk. "And he really did bring me back to life."

"Yes, Headmaster," Colbert said.

"The Gandalfr has proven to be an incredibly dangerous being," Osmond said thoughtfully.

"Yes," Colbert agreed quietly. "Headmaster, I realize that you had wanted to keep the Gandalfr's existence a secret, but the time for that has passed. We need to remove the Gandalfr. Now. Even if that means calling in the palace guards. He is clearly proving to be an entirely negative and very dangerous presence, especially to Miss Valliere, the one closest to him."

"I agree, Jean," Osmond said. "He is like a creeping darkness that holds many nightmares. We must be rid of him. Permanently."

"Unfortunately, he can't be killed," Colbert said.

"No, he can't," Osmond agreed. "But there are ways to kill an immortal."

"Such as...?"

"We can seal him away," Osmond said. "Forever. Bury him far beneath the earth such that he cannot even breath. Leave him there to die continuously, for all eternity. A continuous death is no different than true death, after all."

"Morbid, but we have no choice," Colbert said gravely.

"Indeed. We have no choice," Osmond said. "We'll do it tonight."

**-SCENE BREAK-**

Louise woke up. It was dark outside. She could tell from the way the gentle moonlight shined through her window.

"[Yo. You're awake.]"

Louise turned her head to the side to see Kumagawa sitting at the table with one of her silk panties worn on his head. For a moment, she stared at him with a blank expression. And then the memories of what had happened returned. She nearly vomited again, but her stomach was empty, so her body reacted with painful dry heaves instead. This continued on for a few minutes, until her body finally settled down.

"You're sick," Louise muttered at Kumagawa.

"[Me?]" Kumagawa said. "[No, you're the one who's sick. After all, you've been asleep for two days. Should I call the nurse for you or something?]"

"Shut up," Louise said, wanting to scream it at him, but finding her lips too dry and her throat too hoarse to speak any louder. She glanced around and noticed a glass of water placed on her nightstand. Louise grabbed it and drank from it slowly, letting the water work its way into her system. "What in Brimir's name were you thinking? Why would you kill the headmaster?" Louise said as soon as she finished the glass of water and placed it back on the nightstand.

"[Hm... Don't you think that's the wrong question to ask, Louise?]" Kumagawa mused. "[What you should be asking is why has the headmaster and the other teachers encouraged others to bully you?]"

"They never encouraged it," Louise said.

"[They did,]" Kumagawa said. "[They permitted it to continue. They never even tried to stop the others from saying mean things to you. Their lack of action is the exact same thing as encouraging the bullying to continue, because it shows the other students that they can bully you freely and get away with it.]"

"Even if that were true, that's not a good enough reason to attack them," Louise retorted. "I just need to work harder and stop the bullying through my own merits."

"[Yeah, you said something like that before,]" Kumagawa nodded in remembrance. "[But, Louise. That's wrong. You see, people like you and I? We're failures. We're weak. We're useless. We're nothing. We are the ones who cannot succeed. The ones destined to lose, to be insulted and spit upon. So if we want to stop all the bad things in the world, there's only one thing we can do: destroy the elites. If everyone else is as weak and useless as we are, then it'll be peaceful and everyone can be friends.]"

"No! That's wrong!" Louise shook her head angrily. "I might be weak, but I'm not useless! What we need to do is work harder to improve ourselves!"

"[A noble sentiment,]" Kumagawa nodded again. "[But useless. There are some things that just can't be done, even with effort. If you try harder, you'll improve? That's naïve. Tell me, if you try harder, can you be your mother's mother?]"

Louise blinked. "What? No. Of course not. What kind of stupid question is that?"

"[If you try harder, can you turn yourself from a girl to a boy?]" Kumagawa continued as if he hadn't heard her.

"No," Louise said, utterly bemused.

"[It's the same, then,]" Kumagawa said. "[Just because you try harder, doesn't mean you can win.]"

"That's not even logical!" Louise cried out ludicrously. "How does me being unable to be my mother's mother or turning into a boy mean that I can't improve myself and win?"

"[Dunno?]" Kumagawa shrugged nonchalantly. "[That was just a joke. Jeez, Louise. Lighten up. But since you want to be serious, let me put it this way. If you try harder, all that will happen is that you will fail harder. Then everyone else will laugh and insult you even more. That in and of itself is okay, but if you want that to stop, then it's more efficient to just bring everyone down to our level.]"

"You can't know that for sure!" Louise said accusingly. "Whether I can or can't succeed is up to my own efforts!"

"[Oh really? Let me ask you something then. How long have you been putting in that effort into improving?]" Kumagawa asked. "[How long have you been trying and continuing to fail? How long has your effort and practice proven to be useless? One year? Two years? Five? Ten?]" Kumagawa spread his hands as if he was making a theatrical announcement. "[But that's okay, Louise. I am the ally of the weak. So fall! Become a Minus like me, and let's destroy the elites together!]"

"Shut up!" Louise shouted and hurled the glass cup at Kumagawa.

Kumagawa didn't even try to dodge, instead allowing the glass to hit his face and shatter, causing several deep lacerations on his face. An instant later, the cuts disappeared and the cup reappeared, totally unbroken, back on the nightstand. Louise took the restored cup and threw it at Kumagawa again with an angry snarl, only for the same thing to repeat.

"Don't follow me," Louise spat angrily as she got out of bed and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

_Stupid Kumagawa,_ Louise thought angrily as she practically stomped down the hallway. _He doesn't understand a single thing. Not a single damn thing!_

Louise suddenly stumbled and leaned against the wall. Something was wrong. A sudden drowsiness seized her, and she wondered if it was due to having been in a coma for two days. Louise shook her head and began walking forward again. She took two more steps and fell to the ground, asleep.

**-SCENE BREAK-**

Kumagawa sat at the table in Louise's room, drumming his fingers on its wooden surface as he pondered about Louise.

Specifically, what kind of underwear would fit best for her.

Her best colors would probably be pink or white, Kumagawa thought, and unlike the green-haired woman or the redhead, Louise was better suited for the cute and charming type of panties. Perhaps striped or bunny panties? Yes, that would be perfect for her.

_Knock! Knock!_

"[Coming!]" Kumagawa called out cheerfully as he walked over to the door and opened it. He blinked upon seeing the one standing there. A bespectacled blue-haired girl who was even shorter than Louise. "[Yes?]"

"Come," the girl said simply and began walking down the hallway. When she noticed Kumagawa not following her, she turned around and stared at him quizzically, as if to ask "why aren't you following?"

"[Why?]" Kumagawa responded.

"Because," the girl said.

"[No,]" Kumagawa said, deliberately using one word answers to match the girl.

"Louise."

"[What?]"

"Captured."

"[Oh.]"

"Come."

"[Okay.]"

Kumagawa followed the mysterious girl outside the Academy, to the place where he had first been summoned. Awaiting him were three other people: the headmaster, a balding middle-aged teacher, and the redhead with big boobs and nice underwear. Tied up and sleeping behind them was Louise. At that, Kumagawa narrowed his eyes slightly.

"[Hm... I guess that this is for revenge, huh?]" Kumagawa said after moment. "[Well, that's okay. I'm used to being lynched by groups.]"

"Unfortunately, Kumagawa," Osmond said, "you are too dangerous and evil to allow to live."

"[So? What will you do then?]" Kumagawa asked curiously. "[You know that I can't be killed, right?]"

"That's not entirely accurate," Osmond said as he pulled out his wand. "You can be killed. You just resurrect yourself afterward. And if that's the case, then all we need to do is seal you away by making sure you are killed continuously, forever. A continuous death is the same as an eternal death. That is how you will die."

Kumagawa looked at Osmond approvingly. "[Oh, nicely thought out! You are right. That is indeed the weakness of All-Fiction. And with magic, you might be able to succeed where Sukinasaki failed. I am curious though. Did you purposefully recruit two students and kidnap another student just to fight against me?]"

"Tabitha and I decided to do this independently because you are too dangerous to be kept around," Kirche spat. "It was only coincidence that Headmaster Osmond and Mister Colbert decided to do the same thing as us on the same night. Though, given the kind of monster you are, you really shouldn't be surprised."

"[I see,]" Kumagawa said. "[And Louise?]"

"She's safe, of course," Osmond said. "Merely asleep due to the effects of the Bell of Sleep."

"[Well, that's good,]" Kumagawa said. "[Then, shall we get started on the count of three? One... Two...]" Kumagawa flung four giant screws at his opponents, but they each blocked the attack with either a wall of ice or earth or by burning it to ashes before it reached them.

Kirche and Colbert counterattacked first, each unleashing a torrent of fire that combined to form an intense inferno upon Kumagawa. Because of its wide range, Kumagawa was unable to dodge, and he was near instantly burned to complete ashes, such that not even a speck of him remained.

And then, a moment after the inferno dissipated, he reappeared, completely and totally unharmed.

"[Phew! Who turned up the heat?]" Kumagawa said jokingly. "[Well, anyways, now it should be my turn to attack again, right? That's how it would work in manga.]"

Kumagawa charged forward towards the strongest looking one of his four opponents, Colbert, and with a pair of giant screws in his hands. However, Tabitha unleashed a barrage of icy spears upon him from the side. Kumagawa unleashed a barrage of his own screws to counter it, and many of the projectiles hit each other midair. When they did, the ice spears would shatter and the screws would lose their momentum and fall to the ground. However, some of the screws and ice spears missed each other, and continued on to their targets. Tabitha defended herself by raising a thick wall of ice, whereas Kumagawa simply took the attack, the ice spears piercing his body easily, and then made it as if it never happened an instant later.

With that, Kumagawa briefly backed off as he considered his plan of action. Merely charging in a straightforward manner would be useless. He needed to attack them more cleverly if he wanted to beat them. He needed a plan.

Therefore, he charged again. Faster, this time.

Osmond raised a ring of stone ten feet high around Kumagawa to entrap him. Without slowing down, Kumagawa flung a series of screws at the stone wall, forming a series of footholds for him to use to easily escape the trap, though he only narrowly managed to do so fast enough before the ground in the ring suddenly caved in and became a deep, dark hole. An abyss meant to swallow him and trap him underground forever.

Having been unprepared for Kumagawa's escape, the four mages momentarily froze. It was a brief weakness that Kumagawa immediately pounced upon by throwing a barrage of giant screws at Headmaster Osmond. Given his physical frailty, the old man was unable to react in time and was pierced by the screws, the force and momentum of the screws flinging him backwards and impaling him to the ground.

"Headmaster!" Colbert cried out.

"Bastard!" Kirche shouted angrily. "You'll pay for that!"

"[I'll pay?]" Kumagawa laughed. "[Weren't you guys the one who came to attack me first? This isn't my fault.]"

"Shut up!" Kirche shouted as she released a flurry of fireballs at Kumagawa. At the same time, Tabitha and Colbert unleashed a storm of ice spears and an enormous snake made of pure fire upon Kumagawa.

Kumagawa threw down a cluster of screws in the ground in front of him, forming a dense metal wall that blocked the magical onslaught. Underneath the heat of the fire magic, the screws began to glow a bright red, and when the cold ice magic hit them, the rapid decrease in temperature caused the wall of screws to shatter.

At the same time, Kumagawa moved to close the distance between him and the mages as well, this time seeking to bring down Colbert. However, a sudden rumbling in the earth accidentally caused him to trip and tumble into the ground.

"[Ow,]" Kumagawa said as he stood back up and brushed himself off.

"Look!" Kirche cried out, pointing to an enormous dark silhouette near the castle.

There, standing at around fifteen meters in height, was a moving stone statue, only vaguely in the shape of a human being. It brought one enormous stone fist up and smashed it against the walls of a castle tower. The stone wall fractured, a spiderweb of cracks appearing on its surface.

"It must be Foquet!" Kirche declared.

"Shit!" Colbert snarled, though he never took his eyes off of Kumagawa.

"[I'm not really sure what's going on,]" Kumagawa said, pointing at the stone construct, "[but shouldn't you go stop that thing? Don't worry about me. I'm not going anywhere.]"

The giant stone construct once more smashed a heavy fist against the wall, causing even more cracks to appear.

"There's no other choice," Colbert said. "Miss Tabitha, Miss Zerbst. Go distract Foquet while I will deal with him."

"Are you sure, Mister Colbert?" Kirche said hesitantly.

"Yes, now go!"

Kirche and Tabitha glanced one more time at Kumagawa and Colbert, before they turned and ran for the stone construct.

Colbert made a quick gesture with his wand and muttered a spell. From his wand, a tiny ball of brightly glowing fire, no bigger than a child's fist, flew out. For a moment, Kumagawa simply watched it, perplexed on how that was supposed to hurt him. Then, when it reached about three-quarters of the way to Kumagawa, the ball of fire suddenly burst into a dazzling display of light, as if the sun itself had suddenly appeared no more than a few feet away from Kumagawa.

"[Uwaaah!]" Kumagawa screamed in pain as he clutched his eyes, blinded by the sudden burst of light.

Colbert seized this chance and began concentrating and preparing his most powerful spell.

"_Flame Sna-"_ Colbert began to cry out. However, he was interrupted when three screws suddenly impaled him, two in his shoulders and one in his guts.

"[Just kidding,]" Kumagawa said cheerfully as he walked over to Colbert.

"H-how?" Colbert managed to cough out, spluttering blood all over his jaw.

"[Blinding me first to set up another spell. Your plan was simple, but good,]" Kumagawa complimented. "[But by blinding me, you also blinded yourself. You thought that just because I couldn't see, it meant that I couldn't attack you. That was a mental blind spot, a weakness that I can advantage of without even looking. That was your mistake.]"

"B-bastard," Colbert coughed.

Kumagawa walked over to Colbert and placed the sharp, pointy tip of a giant screw on top of Colbert's forehead, and then carefully balanced it there with one foot on its head.

"[Well, don't worry about a thing,]" Kumagawa said cheerfully. "[I'll make sure to bring you guys back to life later. And then you can apologize to me for such an unwarranted attack. It was a truly shameful behavior as teachers, you know.]"

With the last of his strength, Colbert spat bloody saliva at Kumagawa, only barely managing to hit him in the leg with it. Though, it immediately disappeared afterward. Without another word, Kumagawa then stomped down on the screw, drilling the screw into Colbert's head and shattering his skull into bloody pieces.

Kumagawa went over to the still sleeping Louise's side and placed a hand on her forehead. The ropes binding her disappeared and Louise's eyes snapped open. She shot up with a gasp, nearly headbutting Kumagawa in doing so.

"What? What's going on?" Louise said in a bewildered tone while quickly looking around the area. When she saw the corpses of Osmond and Colbert impaled by screws, her face twisted in anger. "Kumagawa! You killed them!?"

"[They kidnapped you and tried to kill me first,]" Kumagawa shrugged carelessly. "[It's not my fault.]"

"Bring them back!" Louise ordered with a snarl.

"[Later,]" Kumagawa said as he patted Louise on the head. She quickly swiped at his hand and slapped it away. "[There is something else we need to take care of. See over there?]"

Louise looked at where Kumagawa was pointing. There, a giant stone construct was fighting two, much smaller humans, who were blasting it with fire and ice, but to no avail. They did, however, prove to be enough of a distraction so that the construct had been forced to cease its attacks on the tower wall.

"Foquet?" Louise said, bemused. "What is that thief doing here?"

"[Dunno,]" Kumagawa shrugged. "[Let's go watch.]"

Kumagawa began walking over to the battle as if he were simply taking a casual stroll. Louise glanced back at the two corpses of her teachers for a moment, and then quickly followed after her familiar. Once they were close enough, they could see that the battle was not going well for Kirche and Tabitha. Both of them were sweating heavily and laboring to breathe. The stone construct had several black scorch marks and holes from where Tabitha's ice spears pierced it, but those were all superficial damages. Standing on the shoulder of the construct was a cloaked person.

"[Yo!]" Kumagawa called out to Kirche and Tabitha. "[How's it going?]"

"You! Why are you here?" Kirche cried out as she dodged a stone fist. "What happened to Mister Colbert?"

"[Colbert? That balding guy?]" Kumagawa said. "[He's dead.]"

"You monster!" Kirche snarled angrily and aimed her wand at Kumagawa.

"Kirche! Dodge!" Louise cried out.

The redhead whipped her head back around, but failed to move fast in time before a giant stone hand grabbed her body. From the stone arm, a smaller hand grew out and grabbed Kirche's wand and snapped it in half, before putting her back on the ground. Whoever Foquet was, while he may be a thief, it seemed that he was no murderer.

Now, with only Tabitha left to fight, the thief turned his attention back to the tower wall. The stone construct raised a mighty arm and smashed it against the wall, finally causing it to break open. Foquet quickly hopped down onto the stone arm and ran into the open tower, dodging Tabitha's ice spears as he did. Moment's later, he was back outside and on the construct's shoulder. Slung across his back was a long wooden box; his prize.

"_Fireball!"_ Louise shouted as she aimed her wand at Foquet.

However, likely due to her poor aim, the ensuing explosion merely landed on the golem's broad chest, leaving a spiderweb of cracks due to the spell.

"It's no use, Louise," Kirche said in a defeated tone. "The golem is too tough for us to get past. Foquet is too strong for us."

"No! We can't give up!" Louise declared as she cast another spell, another explosion, upon the golem, which was slowly beginning to make its escape. "We can't let that thief escape!"

"What else can we do?" Kirche sighed. "My wand is broken, Tabitha is out of willpower, and you alone don't have the power to stop Foquet."

"But... I'm not alone," Louise said slowly. She turned to her familiar. "Kumagawa. Help me stop Foquet."

Kumagawa scratched his head, and then nodded. "[Okay. I'm an ally of the weak, after all.]"

Kumagawa charged the golem. Upon noticing his rapid approach, Foquet's golem lashed out with a giant stone fist. However, due to its great weight, it was slow, and Kumagawa easily ran past the attack, dodging it. Then, before the golem could make another attack, Kumagawa reached the golem's feet. In a near instant, he impaled dozens, no, scores of giant screws into each of the stone feet, bolting them to the ground. Thus, due to its great height and weight, when the golem attempted to move, it quickly unbalanced itself and fell forward to the ground with an enormous crash. However, even as it fell, Foquet easily jumped off of it and lightly floated to the ground, safely away from the crash site.

Foquet silently raised his wand at Kumagawa, who watched the thief with a frown.

"[Aren't you going to take your cloak off?]" Kumagawa asked. "[This is where you're supposed to reveal yourself and surprise us by actually being someone's long lost sibling or something.]"

When the thief didn't respond, Kumagawa shrugged. An instant later, the cloak was no more.

"Miss Longueville?" Louise said in shock. "_You're_ Foquet?"

"[Huh. Teacher works too, I guess,]" Kumagawa said with a note of disappointment in his voice. "[Not as dramatic, but it'll do.]"

"... I see," Foquet said thoughtfully. "You used All-Fiction to make my enchanted cloak into nothing."

Kumagawa said nothing, but smiled as he watched Foquet.

"And I don't suppose I could convince you to just let me go, could I?" Foquet asked rhetorically. "I don't really feel like fighting someone who killed Colbert and that perverted geezer, Osmond."

"Of course you can't," Louise immediately said. "There's no way Kumagawa will just let a thief like you go free. Right, Kumagawa?" When Kumagawa didn't answer, Louise looked at the Minus warily. "Kumagawa?"

Foquet seized this chance to negotiate. "Of course, I'm not asking you to do let me go for free." Foquet reached underneath the short skirt she was wearing and stripped off her black panties. She tossed that at Kumagawa, who caught it out of the air. "Here, one of the panties that you love so much."

Louise groaned upon noticing the gleeful look on Kumagawa's face. "Oh you have got to be kidding me..."

Kumagawa carefully pocketed Foquet's panties. "[Okay. I'll let you go,]" Kumagawa said happily. "[But I have one more condition.]"

"What is it?" Foquet narrowed her eyes. "I don't have anymore panties on me, if that's what you're wondering."

"[No, no, no,]" Kumagawa waggled his fingers in negative. "[I want you take me on the greatest panty raid this world has ever seen! A worldwide panty raid!]"

Louise palmed her face. Beside her, Kirche did the same thing, while Tabitha merely pulled out a book and began reading.

"... Uh... Right..." Foquet said, bemused. "Sure. We'll do that. But can we set aside that promise for the next time we meet?"

"[Okay!]" Kumagawa said cheerfully. "[Bye, then!]"

Foquet cautiously stepped back, and then turned to run. Louise to raised her wand to cast a spell to stop the fleeing thief, but Foquet suddenly vanished into the earth.

"What do you think you're doing letting that thief go?" Louise hissed. "She probably stole something very valuable, and you're just going to let her get away with it?"

"[But she promised to go on a worldwide panty raid with me,]" Kumagawa protested. "[Besides, while I did tell her I'll let her go, I never said anything about letting her get away with what she stole.]"

"What are you-" Louise broke off as she glanced over to the tower Foquet had broken open and noticed that it was completely unbroken. She sighed as realization dawned upon her. "All-Fiction."

"[All-Fiction,]" Kumagawa agreed. "[The reality that she stole whatever it was that she stole is now nothing.]"

"But you still shouldn't have let her go!" Louise said angrily. "She's a thief that needs to be captured and brought to justice."

"[Silly Louise,]" Kumagawa chuckled. "[Pretty words like 'justice' are the words used by elites, not by Minuses like us.]"

"I am _not_ a Minus," Louise spat. "And you realize that she probably lied to you. You'll likely never see her again."

"[No way!]" Kumagawa said with fake surprise. He sighed with exaggerated disappointment and hung his head. "[You mean I lost again?]"

Louise reached up and grabbed Kumagawa by his collar, and shook him violently. "Why!? Why are you like this? If it was you, you could have stopped Foquet easily!"

"[What are you talking about, Louise?]" Kumagawa said in an amused voice. "[I'm a Minus. It was painfully obvious that if we fought, I would have lost. She would have gotten away and I would have failed to stop her.]"

"So just because you think you'll lose, you don't even try?" Louise said in disbelief. "You... You're just... You're such a Minus!"

"[Oh, thanks,]" Kumagawa said happily, taking her words as a compliment. "[But aren't you misunderstanding something? It's not that because I'll lose that I didn't fight her. If there's one thing we, as the weak and useless Minuses, hold proudly against the elites, it's that we don't run away from losing. I didn't fight her because I didn't have a reason.]"

"Her being a thief isn't a good enough reason to stop her?" Louise said incredulously.

"[Why should I care if she stole from the people who tried to kill me?]" Kumagawa asked in a perplexed manner. "[That wouldn't make any sense at all.]"

Louise opened her mouth, and then shut it and sighed. All she was doing was talking in circles. No matter what she said, it would not change Kumagawa's mentality.

"Forget it," Louise sighed again. "Just go and revive Headmaster Osmond and Mister Colbert."

**-SCENE BREAK-**

Foquet breathed heavily as she walked into her hidden hideout, a small, dilapidated looking cabin in the middle of the forest, and set the box containing the Staff of Destruction on the table. With a satisfied sigh, she sat down on the chair and leaned back carefully.

She had done it. She had stolen the Staff of Destruction, a legendary artifact. She had been worried that Kumagawa would interfere, but she was fortunate that he was easily bought off. In this case, his perverseness worked in her favor.

With a victorious grin, Foquet opened the box to look at her prize. In an instant, her gleeful face transformed into one of pure anger.

"Son of a bitch!" Foquet snarled.

There, where the Staff of Destruction should have been, was one of Kumagawa's giant screws.


	4. Chapter 4 - Suspension

_Author's Notes:_

_Alright, so something I think I forgot to clarify is that the Kumagawa in this fic is Kumagawa before he enrolls in Hakoniwa Academy, but after he leaves Suisou Academy and the events of his gaiden, Good Loser Kumagawa. _

_In other words, Kumagawa has only the undeteriorated All-Fiction at the moment and he has yet to be reformed personality wise._

_Also, for those of you who haven't read Medaka Box, here's a mini info dump: Normals=normal people, Specials=naturally gifted and talented people, Abnormals and Minuses=people with superpowers. That's the basics, and there are some key differences between Abnormals and Minuses, but I won't bother info dumping all of that right now. If you guys want me to, I can go ahead and do that next time. I just thought that it may or may not be important to get that out there._

_This is gonna be a short chapter because it's mostly supposed to just set up the next two chapters, but enjoy anyway. _

**-STORY START-**

The Valliere family was known as the strongest, most prestigious, most influential noble family in all of Tristain, and amongst the top five in all of Halkeginia. This powerful family, minus one, sat brooding around a large, oaken dining table. The topic at hand: their soon returning family member.

"Louise, that little chit!" the eldest sister, Eleanore, spat angrily. "How could she get _expelled_ from the Academy!? Especially after she was the one who begged to be allowed to go!?"

"Now, now, sister Eleanore," the second eldest daughter, Cattleya, said soothingly. "She wasn't expelled, she was just suspended."

"An indefinite suspension is the same thing as expulsion!" Eleanore retorted.

As the two daughters continued to argue, Cattleya doing her best to placate her seething elder sibling, Karin once more turned her gaze at the contents of the letter the family had received directly from Headmaster Osmond.

_To House Valliere,_

_It is with great regret I must inform you, the Valliere family, that Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere has been henceforth indefinitely suspended from the Tristain Academy of Magic until such a time that the danger she and her familiar poses has been absolved._

_Sincerely,_

_Headmaster Osmond_

Osmond was a man Karin knew personally as a pervert without equal, but also an intelligent and capable man, and one of the most skilled mages Tristain had to offer, though his skill had been largely diminished due to the physical frailty of old age.

In point of fact, Osmond had been Karin's teacher when she attended the Academy, and had been the only teacher that approved, and even encouraged her then dream of becoming the strongest mageknight in Tristain. Even after graduation, the two still occasionally corresponded through letters, and had done so more regularly once her daughter, Louise, began attending the Academy as well.

Though Karin was a firm believer in the Rule of Steel, she was also still a mother, and it was a mother's duty to make certain that their child was well and striving to do her best. Though, Osmond and Karin both knew that Louise was not a skilled mage, and that she tended to always produce explosive results.

However, Karin frowned, she also knew the extent of what Louise was capable of. Yes, she always failed her spells and created explosions instead, but the extent of the damage of her explosions tended to be more comedic than anything else. That was how it had been for most of her life. Had something changed since then?

And why had Osmond so obviously deliberately used a short, almost cryptic message instead of explaining more properly why her daughter had been "indefinitely suspended?" After all, when a student has been suspended, it was natural for the school to explain _why _she had been suspended. Karin pursed her lips as she carefully folded the message and placed it on the table.

Judging from the way Osmond had deliberately written that it was the danger of her daughter AND her familiar, Karin had little doubt that it was the familiar that had served as the catalyst for her sudden suspension. This would make sense, considering that her summoning a familiar was the only notable change from before and now. At least, that was as far as she was aware of. However, what that familiar was, Karin could only guess, as Louise and Osmond both failed, or perhaps refused, to inform her of what her daughter had summoned. If it was dangerous enough for Louise to be suspended, then it was clearly on a level completely different from any other familiar. For even dragons, known as one of the most dangerous types of familiars a mage could summon, did not warrant suspension.

Karin frowned as she pursued that line of thought. Did that mean her daughter's familiar was stronger than a dragon? Unlikely. There were very few creatures stronger and more dangerous than a dragon. But being stronger did not necessarily mean being more dangerous. A violent, disobedient dog was more of a threat to others than a perfectly obedient dragon, after all.

So then, was Louise's familiar very disobedient? That would fall in line with her own suspicions about her daughter's capabilities. Being a sub-par mage, it wasn't unusual if Louise was incapable of controlling her familiar properly, thereby endangering her and others.

However, even then, the familiar would have to be sufficiently strong enough to provoke such a reaction from the headmaster. A suspension for a disobedient familiar? That was a little unbelievable, even for her. A violent dog, after all, could simply be put in a cage. Even a dragon could be restrained and muzzled.

Therefore, Karin thought, her daughter's familiar was something independent enough to behave disobediently and violently, and also strong enough to pose a serious threat to others.

"Enough," Karin said, silencing her still bickering daughters. Eleanore and Cattleya immediately fell silent. "When Louise returns, we will discuss the matter properly, and I shall deal her punishment myself."

All those in the room went pale at that.

**-SCENE BREAK-**

"Headmaster," Colbert said quietly, staring at the back of the elderly man. "Are you certain that suspending Miss Valliere was for the best? All we're doing is allowing that familiar to leave alive."

"No, I'm not certain," Osmond sighed ruefully. "However, that thing cannot be allowed to stay here. It absolutely cannot. It is a monster, one that Miss Valliere herself can scarcely control. It follows her for what I can only imagine as out of its own sick amusement. And above all else, I fear that, before long, it will turn Miss Valliere into one like it."

"And so, you sent her back to her family, hoping that they can provide the moral support that we cannot in order to prevent such a thing?" Colbert said. "Or are you perhaps hoping that Karin the Heavy Wind will be able to deal with the familiar herself in our stead?"

Osmond turned to face Colbert and sighed again, regret thick on his features. "Both," he admitted.

"In that case," Colbert said calmly, "why did you not inform the Valliere family of their youngest daughter's familiar's true power? All-Fiction is not something Karin can simply remain ignorant of."

Osmond snorted. "And what would you have me write to her? That her daughter's familiar has the ability to negate reality? If you were in her shoes, without knowing the truth, would _you_ believe me?"

"No," Colbert admitted with a sigh of his own. "I suppose I would not. It is unrealistic."

"Mmm," Osmond agreed. "In any case, Karin was once my most clever and talented student. I'm sure she'll have picked up on the clues I gave her by now."

"Then what of the palace? Should we not inform them as well?" Colbert asked. "If we simply inform them that Miss Valliere's familiar is actually the Gandalfr, that would be enough to cause them to at least investigate more closely. And if that's the case, the chances of them realizing its true nature and its danger is high."

"I agree," Osmond nodded. "And it's why I've already sent a letter to the princess as well."

**SCENE BREAK**

"Did you hear, Tabitha?" Kirche said. "Louise was suspended."

The petite wind mage simply nodded as she read her book.

"Still," Kirche said with a frown. "Although this is good enough, it's still not what I had exactly hoped for. That demon is still alive and free, after all."

"Nothing," Tabitha said.

"I know that there's nothing we can do about it and that he's too much for us to deal with," Kirche said exasperatedly, easily reading what her best friend's true words were. "But still, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth knowing that he got away free."

Tabitha nodded.

"Still," Kirche sighed, "I suppose all we can do now is wait and see what happens, and hope for the best."

Tabitha nodded again.

**-SCENE BREAK-**

"Come in," Henrietta said upon noticing the knocking on her study's door.

The door opened, and a woman dressed in a noble's cloak, a symbol of her status as a Chevalier, walked in. While the cloak was not unusual in and of itself, it was unusual that she, unlike most others who bore that cloak, had a sheathed sword and a holstered gun at her side, and wore a chainmail armor and a robe emblazoned with a lily coat of arms, Tristain's symbol, over it. What distinguished her even further from not just other nobles, but most other people, were the hideous burn scars on half her face, and which continued on down to below her neckline; the scars of her past.

This woman was no mage like every other noble. She was a knight. In other words, a commoner. But more than that, Agnes was her trusted confidant, subordinate, and friend. And in her hand, she held what Henrietta suspected was the reason for her coming here.

"Agnes," Henrietta smiled at her friend. "How are you?"

"The same as always, Your Highness," Agnes said concisely, causing Henrietta to frown slightly. Agnes was never one to play around with words, preferring instead to deliver her thoughts and intentions as quickly and simply as possible. Still, Henrietta wished that Agnes would converse with her more. "I bear a message for you from Headmaster Osmond."

"Osmond?" Henrietta blinked. Due to their respective positions, it wasn't exactly uncommon for her to receive messages from the old pervert, but they were still typically only for important events, such as information of graduating students, the summoning ritual, etc. However, the closest such event was the summoning ritual, and she had already received a message from the pervert on that matter. "Alright. Let's see it."

Agnes dutifully handed over the letter to the princess. Henrietta quickly broke the seal and began reading through it.

"Oh my," Henrietta murmured softly after finishing reading the contents of the paper.

"Your Highness?" Agnes said curiously. "Is everything alright?"

"Tell me, Agnes," Henrietta said as she looked up from the letter. "What do you know of Brimir's familiars?"

"Nothing, Your Highness," Agnes admitted easily. "Religion is not a large part of my life."

"No, I suppose it wouldn't be," Henrietta frowned sadly as she recalled Agnes' tragic past. Many years ago, it was on orders of the Church that Agnes' hometown, D'Angletarre, a town innocent of all charges laid upon it, was burned to the ground with not a single survivor, save for Agnes herself. It was Henrietta's promise to help find those responsible for committing the deed so that Agnes could kill them in revenge that bound the knight's loyalty to the princess. "Though I suppose even if it was, it is unlikely you would know of them. There are few who actually care to know of Brimir's familiars, instead focusing entirely on the man himself. In any case, I'll tell you."

Agnes nodded and relaxed her posture slightly as she settled down to listen.

"Unlike any other mage in recorded history," Henrietta began explaining, "Brimir was unique in that he was not limited to one familiar. Instead, he had four. Although knowledge of the fourth one has been lost, the other three are known as the Gandalfr, Windalfr, and Myoznitnirn. According to the stories, the Gandalfr is the master of all weapons, the Windalfr is the master of all beasts and creatures, and Myoznitnirn is the master of all magical items." Henrietta paused and tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Keeping in line with that pattern, I wonder if the fourth familiar is also a master of something, though I can scarcely imagine what. Perhaps something as abstract as light and darkness? Emotions? Or perhaps even something like being the master of the world's natural phenomenons?"

Henrietta shook her head. "But I digress. In any case, Osmond's letter had just informed me that it is entirely possible that my dear friend, Louise Valliere, has somehow managed to summon the Gandalfr as her familiar."

"Truly?" Agnes arched an eyebrow. "The Gandalfr, the familiar of Brimir himself, summoned by... Lady Valliere?"

Henrietta's lips twitched in amusement. She understood Agnes' hesitation perfectly. While she loved Louise dearly as her best friend, Henrietta knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Louise was not what one would call a skilled mage, not even remotely. To think that such a person could summon a legendary familiar was preposterous.

"That's what the old perv-... I mean, what the headmaster claims," Henrietta said. "He tells me that the runes match up perfectly and that the familiar is very powerful. Too powerful, as it seems it necessitated him suspending my friend."

"What shall we do, then?" Agnes asked.

"Hm..." Henrietta drummed her fingers on the table thoughtfully. "I suppose that it's worth looking into at the very least. We'll stop by the Valliere estate on our way to Germania for the final negotiations. But so help me, if that old pervert suspended my friend for nothing, I'll have his job for this."

**-SCENE BREAK-**

"I'm so dead, I'm so dead, I'm so dead," Louise chanted fearfully like a mantra as she cradled her head in her arms.

From the opposite seat of the carriage they rode in, Kumagawa lounged nonchalantly. "[Don't worry,]" Kumagawa said. "[Even if you die, I'll just revive you.]"

"Shut up," Louise snapped angrily as she looked up to glare at her familiar, her fear transforming into anger. "This is all your fault. If you hadn't killed the headmaster and Professor Colbert, none of this would have happened! I wouldn't have been expelled or have to go back to my family in shame or anything!"

"[I brought them back to life afterward, didn't I? And, correct me if I'm wrong,]" Kumagawa said casually, "[but weren't you only indefinitely suspended?]"

"It's the same exact thing!" Louise cried out.

"[Huh. If that's the case, why don't they just call it expulsion instead of indefinite suspension?]" Kumagawa wondered curiously. "[Seems to me that they're just trying to sugarcoat it.]"

"Why couldn't I summon anything else besides you?" Louise groaned as she once more began cradling her head in her arms. "Even something as lame as a mouse would have been okay. Anything else!"

"[Oh, speaking of mice,]" Kumagawa smacked one fist over an open palm, "[I'm going to miss the old man's mouse. It was so cool! Knowing how to peek up women's skirts? Genius!]"

"Shut up," Louise ordered angrily again, still cradling her head. "I'm so dead, I'm so dead, I'm so dead."

"[What are you so afraid of anyway?]" Kumagawa asked curiously.

"... My mother."

Kumagawa blinked for a moment. "[Pfft!]" he began laughing. "[You're mom? You're afraid of your mom? Hahaha!]"

"Shut up!" Louise ordered for a third time. "This isn't a laughing matter! She's going to kill me! She's really going to kill me for getting expelled!"

"[Indefinitely suspended,]" Kumagawa corrected.

"Same thing," Louise snapped back. "Ooh, I'm so dead, I'm so dead, I'm so dead."

"[Hm... Well, if that's the case,]" Kumagawa said as his mirthful grin settled back down into his typical, insincere one, "[why not just kill her first?]"

"What?" Louise looked at Kumagawa with a mixture of horror, fear, and anger. "Are you joking? She's my _mother!_ I can't kill my mother! And even if I wanted to, which I don't, she's far too strong for me to even think about fighting!"

Kumagawa considered this for a moment, tapping his chin thoughtfully as he did. Then he nodded once and said, "[Well, then, I guess you really are dead, huh?]"

"Don't act like you have nothing to do with it!" Louise snapped, angered by Kumagawa's nonchalant attitude. "This is all your fault!"

"[It is?]" Kumagawa said with feigned surprise.

"Of course it is!" Louise said angrily.

"[I don't think it is though,]" Kumagawa frowned. "[I mean, it's not my fault that they attacked me first.]"

"You were the one who killed the headmaster the first time in his office!" Louise cried out.

"[Yeah, but I brought him back afterward, didn't I?]" Kumagawa pointed out. "[Besides, he was being unfair and hypocritical. He deserved it, so it's not my fault.]"

"Kumagawa... You... Argh!" Louise threw her hands up into the air and vented her frustration. Then she rested her forehead against the side of the carriage and began chanting once more, "I'm so dead, I'm so dead, I'm so dead."

"[Besides,]" Kumagawa continued, "[why would you even care about a guy like him anyway? He's already abandoned you, after all.]"

"What are you talking about?" Louise said, looking up to look at Kumagawa.

"[I mean, think about it,]" Kumagawa said. "[He's taken you hostage already once before just to try and kill me. And then, when he failed, he chose to expel you immediately. All this instead of _actually_ trying to help you. That hypocrite just wants to protect himself.]"

"That's not true," Louise said, though the fire in her voice had gone now. "This is all because you're a danger to others."

"[Am I really?]" Kumagawa grinned. "[When have I ever truly harmed someone? Yeah, I set free the familiars, but they were all able to resummon them easily afterward. And as for me killing the teachers? Did I not revive them afterward without a single trace of an injury? There was no lasting harm done to anyone in the Academy.]"

"That's a poor argument and you know it," Louise said. "Just because the others were able to summon their familiars again and that you made the injuries and deaths of the teachers into nothing, doesn't change the fact that you still committed the deed."

"[Really?]" Kumagawa cocked his head. Then he shrugged. "[Oh well. It still doesn't change the fact then that he left you to be tormented by the other students' bullying. I mean, gee, if I was a student, I would hate to have a teacher that let that happen to me. In fact, I think I'd be so mad that I would have to mess them up a bit. Ah, no worries though, I'm still underage, so I would of course bring them back to life. I wouldn't want to be charged with murder before I can get the full punishment for it after all.]"

Louise stared at her familiar for a moment. "Kumagawa, I really hate you," Louise said quietly. "And like you, your All-Fiction is a disgusting, awful ability. If the time comes when it's never used again, that will still be too soon."

"[Well, that's kind of mean,]" Kumagawa smiled. "[Well, that's okay. I'm used to such insults. In fact, for you, I won't even ask for an apology.]"

Louise sighed and leaned against the carriage wall, shuddering as she her mind began to wonder about what frightful punishment her mother had in store for her when she returned home.


End file.
